Prices for some paper and plastics grades came down this week, with it appearing that European buyers are now ready for the summer break.
There are some indications that arisings have improved a little recently so there is more material available, possibly due to the Euro 2024 football championships. With England in the final on Sunday, there is some hope this will lead to more packaging entering the market over the next couple of weeks.
However, we are getting closer to European summer holidays and shutdowns, and this always suppresses demand in the market. Additionally, Asia seems to have quietened demand where material is going there.
Recent monthly data for the PRN/PERN market has also seen price falls for some PRN/PERN grades with paper looking oversupplied and plastics likely to meet targets easily too.
The FX markets saw last week’s General Election as bringing stability to the UK, especially with the uncertain political situations in France and US in particular. As a result, the pound was approaching $1.30 and was over €1.19 by the end of the week, compared to $1.26 and €1.16 a week ago.
Recycled plastics
With the PRN/PERN value coming down following the publication of the recent monthly data, this brought down the value of packaging grades too.
The price of the PRN/PERN is now below £100 per tonne for the first time since March 2022 and is causing a great deal of uncertainty and confusion in the market, especially when it remains the case that there isn’t huge volumes of material in the market.
HDPE demand is a bit lower and that has brought the price down even further, although this could be seasonal with less milk consumption in summer.
Recycled paper
Prices are easing as European mills already seem to have bought before they go quiet for the summer, and many Asian buyers are also less interested in the hope that prices come down further over this period.
However, there was a domestic mill offering some punchy prices for OCC, and it could be that there are some who feel the market is offering good value at these lower levels and want to stock up.
It is likely the next week or two will give an indication of whether recent price falls have been a dip and will pick up, or whether it is more sustained.
What seems certain is that the oversupply of paper and cardboard according to NPWD data (nobody understands how this can be the case), is likely to lead to a have an impact on the PRN/PERN market over the coming months.
Recycled metals
While copper and aluminium grades gained some value, it was the reverse for brass which saw lower prices this week.
Recycling prices
For recycled paper prices, click here
For recycled plastic prices, click here
For recycled metal prices, click here
For recycled glass prices, click here
For PRN/PERN prices, click here
